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Vol. 50, Issue 11
In the news
Zoo’s ailing polar bear dies; Lyutyik was 19 ANCHORAGE — A polar bear at the Alaska Zoo has died. Officials announced on the zoo website Monday that 19-year-old Lyutyik died Sunday. The beloved animal was generally referred to as Lyu or Louie. He was part of the zoo since 2006. Zoo officials last week said the bear two months ago had become lethargic and was refusing to eat. Caretakers removed him from his usual habitat for monitoring. After the bear died, an evaluation found a mass around and in one of his kidneys. Zoo officials say the condition often goes undetected in animals that large. A more comprehensive pathology review is planned. Polar Bears International says some polar bears in captivity have lived to their mid- to late 30s. The death was first reported by KTUU-television.
Man dies when skiff overturns PETERSBURG — A Petersburg man died after his skiff flipped in ocean waters west of the city. Alaska State Troopers say 50-year-old Doug Larson died after spending up to two hours in Duncan Canal. Larson and 40-yearold Charles King, also of Petersburg, on Friday attempted to help another boat that was stuck about 12 miles west of Petersburg. Their 12-foot skiff flipped and put both men into the water for one to two hours. The Coast Guard says rain was falling and steady wind of 11 mph was blowing with gusts to 45 mph. The men clung to the skiff. When a Coast Guard helicopter crew arrived, King was still conscious. Larson died in the cold water. Neither man wore a life jacket.
Oregon woman dies in crash SEWARD — An Oregon woman died in a weekend head-on crash on the Seward Highway. Alaska State Troopers say Wendy Cox, 39, died at See news, Page A2
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Tuesday, October 15, 2019 • Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
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School board finalizes its priorities By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Just months after the school year began, the school board is now preparing for January’s state legislative session by outlining a number of priorities focusing on a safe school climate, a state education funding plan and rising health care costs. At their regular meeting, Oct. 7, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School
District Board of Education unanimously passed their 2020 state and federal legislative priorities. Their first state priority is to support an “equitable and suitable” public school system that provides opportunities for the preparation of all Alaska children for effective citizenship in the state and nation, as laid out in the Alaska Constitution, the priorities document said. The second priority calls for a
“timely, sustainable and adequate” education funding plan that addresses inflation. “State funding must be consistent, reliable and predictable to provide full funding to meet increasing costs and the diverse and significant needs of our students,” the school board said in their priorities document. “Early notification of funding is critical for sound financial management, as well as recruitment and retention of
quality educators.” The school board lists the ability to provide a safe school environment conducive to learning a high priority. Schools across the country have experienced safety challenges in recent years. The board said the state must provide the funding to retrofit facilities to provide more secure schools, which will take a significant capital See board, Page A2
Call for cease-fire as Turkey widens invasion By Mehmet Guzel and Bassem Mroue Associated Press
AKCAKALE, Turkey — Syrian government troops moved into towns and villages in northeastern Syria on Monday, including the flashpoint region of Manbij, setting up a potential clash with Turkishled forces advancing in the area as long-standing alliances in the region began to shift or crumble following the pullback of U.S. forces. The Syrian military’s deployment near the Turkish border came after Syrian Kurdish forces previously allied with the U.S. said they had reached a deal with President Bashar Assad’s government to help them fend off Turkey’s invasion, now in its sixth day. Assad’s return to the region his troops abandoned in 2012 at the height of the Syrian civil war is a turning point in Syria’s eight-year civil war, giving yet another major boost to his government and its Russian backers and is like to endanger, if not altogether crush, the brief experiment in self-rule set up by Syria’s Kurds since the conflict began. The rapidly changing situation was set in motion last week, when U.S. President Donald Trump ordered American troops in northern Syria to step aside, clearing the way for an attack by Turkey, which regards the Kurdish fighters as terrorists. Since 2014, the Kurds have fought alongside the U.S. in defeating the Islamic State in Syria, and Trump’s move was decried at home and abroad as a betrayal of an ally. Faced with unrelenting criticism, Trump said Monday he was putting new sanctions on Turkey, halting trade negotiations and raising steel tariffs in an effort to pressure Ankara to stop its offensive.
Baderkhan Ahmad / Associated Press
Syrians fleeing Turkish advance arrive to the town of Tal Tamr in north Syria on Monday. Syrian government troops moved into towns and villages in northern Syria on Monday, setting up a potential clash with Turkish-led forces advancing in the area as long-standing alliances in the region begin to shift or crumble following the pullback of U.S. forces.
Vice President Mike Pence also said Trump was sending him to the Middle East because the president was concerned about instability in the region. Pence said Trump spoke with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier Monday and called for an immediate end to Turkey’s military campaign. He added that the U.S. is “simply not going to tolerate Turkey’s invasion of Syria any longer.” In the past five days, Turkish troops and their allies have pushed into northern towns and villages, clashing with the Kurdish fighters over a stretch of 125 miles. The offensive has displaced at least
130,000 people. “Where is the United Nations? Let them come see the blood of our children on the floor! Why don’t they show up?” cried a medic at the Tal Tamr hospital, which received dozens of injured people from nearby Turkish shelling in recent days. Abandoned in the middle of the battlefield, the Kurds turned to Assad and Russia for protection and announced Sunday night that Syrian government troops would be deployed in Kurdish-controlled towns and villages along the border to help repel the Turkish advance. Kurdish official Aldar Khalil said
in a statement that the aim of the agreement is for Syrian troops to be deployed along the border, except for the area between the towns of Ras al-Ayn and Tal Abyad, where Turkish troops are advancing. He added that the autonomous authority will continue to run daily affairs in northeast Syria. “There is an understanding between SDF and Damascus — a military agreement only,” said Badran Ciya Kurd, a senior Kurdish official, referring to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. He has been in talks with Russians since the See invasion, Page A7
Community health services available this month By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
There will be several public health events this week on the peninsula giving residents the opportunity to prepare for flu season, discard old medications or donate blood. Community Drug Take Back Day Unused or expired medications can be safely discarded during a community take back day. This year, the event is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Soldotna Police Department, 44510 Sterling Highway. Participants will receive a
free coffee card. Drive-thru flu shots Central Peninsula Hospital is offering free drive-thru flu vaccinations for adults. The event is on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. The event is 3-5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 16. To reach the event, enter the covered parking garage from Binkley Street on to Vine Avenue, by Soldotna Pharmacy, and follow the signs. Flu shot clinic For residents using Medicare Part B, the Sterling Senior Center, with Safeway/Carrs Pharmacy, is hosting a flu shot clinic at noon, Wednesday,
Oct. 16 at the senior center. Blood Drive The Alaska Blood Bank will be in Kenai with their LifeMOBILE. Wes Dahlgren, the blood bank’s director of communication and recruitment, said the mobile blood bank makes it to the peninsula about three or four times a year. There is no regular spot on the Kenai Peninsula to donate blood, he said. Dahlgren said that residents who donate during the blood drive will be supporting their own community. All of the blood gathered at the blood drive will go to supply the Central
Peninsula Hospital. To prepare for donating blood, Dahlgren asks people to eat well, stay hydrated, bring a photo ID and visit the blood bank’s website for additional information. Interested donors are encouraged to make an appointment for themselves, either online at donate.bloodbankofalaska.org/donor/schedules/ drive_schedule/39132, or over the phone at 907-222-5630. The drive is being held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 16, at Kenai City Hall, 210 Fidalgo Ave. Kenai.
Wildlife refuge woodcutting permits available By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Permits for woodcutting in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge will be available as of Tuesday, Oct. 15. The permits will allow residents to cut personal use firewood. Woodcutting will be permitted alone Swan Lake, Swanson River and Funny River Roads, within Dolly Varden Campground and unburned
areas within Upper Skilak and Lower Skilak Campgrounds, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior. Cutting is limited to trees that are dead and downed within the designated permit areas. Standing trees may not be felled. Vehicles are prohibited beyond the shoulders of the main roads. ATVs are also prohibited. Excess limbs and woody debris must be
piled outside of campsites within campgrounds. Each permit allows residents to collect up to five cords of firewood per household. The wood is for personal use only, and all other woodcutting is prohibited, except for the cutting of dead and downed wood that may be used for campfires while camping on the refuge. Permits will expire and the areas will be closed to woodcutting March
31, 2020. Weather conditions or wood depletion may prompt an earlier closure by the refuge manager. Permits are free of charge. Residents can obtain permits, maps and instructions for special conditions starting Tuesday at the refuge headquarters on Ski Hill Road in Soldotna. The headquarters is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.